In Flames
by indelible
Summary: Oneshot, because everything Hao touches turns to dust, and because Tamao has answers to look for and reasons to find. [for akisukie hashimoto]


**In Flames**

_Urei Sachi_

_Because I could not stop for Death,_

_Death stopped for me…_

-Emily Dickenson

The world needs more drama. Haha! This one's for akisukie hashimoto, because she asked for it. :) I'm starting to like request fics… And belated happy birthday, Tina!

---

"Go away."

The command hung in the already-disturbing atmosphere like clouds of smoke rising up from a pile of burning leaves. It held a promising threat in its wake, and it wasn't hard to miss, if you counted out his grin. Tamamura Tamao braced herself against an inevitable hit- be it physical or emotional. She bit her lower lip and gripped the nearest shaft of wood, then sucked in enough air to gain more confidence. She thought to speak, but when she opened her mouth her throat ran dry. Her mind screamed at her to run away, bolt out of that place as far as she could because she might meet her maker. But her feet didn't follow her; they almost never did.

"Go away," he began in that sickeningly saccharine tone of his, and he added with some twisted humor, "or I might have to kill you." _Not soon enough_.

"Um…" Silence fell like a 100 ton anvil. She twisted her fingers and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears, but didn't move. "Please…" _Please? Please what? Please don't act that way or grin that familiar grin which isn't- can't- be yours?_

He stood up from his seated position and, annoyed, he stalked over to her. The floor creaked and shuddered underneath his feet, and Tamao could feel it too. If she were a devout Catholic like Jeanne, she may have clutched at a crucifix and aimed it at him right now. But, then again, crosses don't work against humans. He might have been a monster, could have been mistaken as one more often than being thought of as a teenager with issues, but he was still flesh and bone.

He was still human, despite his claims of being god. He was just like her.

Not in the behavior and mental part, though. It was only in the sense of his place in the hierarchy of all things that existed, the things that he had never cared about before, and maybe even now. None of them ever could read his mind or think of him as something other than 'iniquitous'.

His hand lunged at her throat and she, with her hands twitching in reflex and her foot taking an involuntary step backward, let out a strangled cry. She could almost feel the pressure of his hands on her neck, could almost swear that hot bolts of fire seeped through her collarbone like water plummeting through soil. She couldn't stop the tiny dribbles of sweat from falling and the tears from forming, mostly out of apprehension than of anything else.

His thumb jerked a bit to the right, but he forced his hand to stay stiff like Marco's personality. With a slight smile (or was it a smirk…? With Hao, you could never know the difference), he spoke with a mellifluous voice, "Would you rather have it quick and painless, or slow and agonizing?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and didn't say anything.

"Well?" He began impatiently, "I don't have all the time in the world." A pause. "Though, really, I could just steal some." Inside, his nerves were jittery and jangled- more as an effect of not smelling the stench of death and blood rather than any real form of nervousness. He ran a hand through his rich russet hair, and then his tongue massaged his parched lips swiftly.

"No." It barely caught his awareness, but she repeated it with more intensity and audacity than she could ever come up with in an everyday conversation. However, talking to Asakura Hao is _not_ considered as a typical tête-à-tête.

"No? No what?" His eyebrows furrowed as if in deep concentration and confusion, "No to stealing time?"

She felt her fingers twitch again, and she suddenly felt great anxiety at not being able to let her fingers fumble as a soothing gesture. Cold air against cold hands was not a good combination. "I- I don't want you to kill me."

He withdrew his hand, automatically making her gain more footing and more relief. Tucking a loose strand of his lavish tresses behind his ear, he contemplated whether letting her go so easily was a wise decision. Shrugging, he resolved that one more injury could perhaps cost him his life and his younger twin's already brittle but still easily given trust. "Hm. Smart girl."

She brought a shaking hand to her throat, still overwhelmed by his rapid actions. She considered thanking him, but there was never really anything to thank. It just canceled out in the end.

"The Spirit of Fire…" She gasped out, temporarily catching his interest, "it could char anything it wishes to, doesn't it?"

His sinister grin widened. "If I want it to, it will."

She shifted her feet. "Oh."

"I know that you are wise beyond your years, but you are also foolish in imagining that love is the answer to everything."

"If…" She regretted responding to his affront, but continued, "if it isn't, then what is?"

He shrugged. "Power. Fame. I don't know. No matter how many years I have lived and resurrected myself, there are still things I am ignorant of, things that Yoh has taught me." In retrospect, he may have sounded a lot nicer than usual, but even he would give credit when it is due.

She started to sway in discomfort, but still didn't move away. "I didn't know."

"There are a lot of things you still don't know." Hao spoke in a hushed voice that made her take no offense in his assertion. She had almost been swayed by his silken tone, but she checked herself and, with slight regret, reminded herself that she would have to settle for Hao for now and maybe forever. "You are not in love with him."

And wasn't that the truth? She was clinging too hard to a hopeless situation, to an unrequited love that she would never voice out, even if she had been able to confront Asakura Hao himself. She was too shy, too introverted to be able to tell Yoh that she had loved him with a love that was pure and…

… And ultimately a product of her childhood fantasies.

Was that what love was?

And what of it, afterwards? Did she expect Yoh to just up and leave his fiancé for her? The outcome was too predictable; he would shake his head and gently reject her, but that soothing voice would make it even worse. It would not be her heart that would break in the aftermath; instead, she would feel cheated and dejected that she had wasted her so many years invested in a hapless infatuation.

Clearing her throat and her head, she said with some anger, "How would you know?"

He wasn't insulted; it was hardly one. It was more impertinent, to Tamao's disappointment, rather than a ruthless blow to his pride and his beliefs. "I am not you."

It was all Tamao could do to hold herself back from letting everything she had kept inside her for so long out. Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned, they said. Well, she would certainly show him. But it would not bode well for her afterwards; he would naturally be the victor.

"But, I suppose it would be unfair to say that you should take my counsel or my observations to heart," he said with sarcastic remorse. "The _family_ tells me that I am imprudent. Though, really, they shouldn't have said that. They would take more injury than I would." He became meditative all of a sudden, and through his half-closed eyes he could see her fidget.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she whispered, "Yoh would never want you to be misguided. He won't let you." She could still sense her trembling, and it was increased when his eyes widened, suddenly provoked by that simple statement.

He turned to her sharply, as though taking offense. "_Won't_? Who do you think he is, to be thought of as superior over me?" Another hiatus. Sadistically, his eyes lit up and his lips twisted upwards. "To you, he is the untouchable moon, isn't he?"

She smiled wryly, looking not unlike Anna for a brief moment. It made her cringe inside. "And to you, he is the person that defeated _you_."

He gave her a warning glance, something that would normally be reserved for the inferior and the unreasonable. "Stop. I've had it with this conversation. Go away. Don't be foolish, Tamamura. I know you're sharp enough to know I wouldn't hesitate to crush your fragile skull." Tamamura. She wondered often whether he actually knew what her name was, and she was surprised when the name came out of his lips as easily as his death threats did.

… And almost…

… Almost like how Yoh said her name. Only this time it was colder and more bittersweet.

And then her mouth was moving and words were coming out- words that she didn't realize she was actually saying until she caught the look on his face and clamped her mouth shut. "Yoh would never want you to have your hands tainted with blood again."

That broke his restraint and patience.

Hissing, he brought his hand to her cheek and pulled her face closer to his. "Listen. The moment that I will my hands to do what they want, what they have been itching to do for so many months, you will regret the minute you stepped into my path and never listened to my commands. One instruction is all it takes for me to," he paused, trailing his fingers to her forehead, "scorch this." Her eyes were wide, and she could see that he was damn humorless about this.

In her mind, she could see it. The flames darker than her hair rising up and swallowing her whole, and she would beat on the ground and scream until her throat burned. Thrashing around would be no good, because his fire was everything that was beautiful and destructive at the same time, aside from imperishable.

It made her wonder sometimes if Yoh just won out of pure luck.

It also made her wonder whether Hao really loved his brother for him to react so violently.

But she closed her eyes tight and breathed against his mouth, "It wouldn't hurt as much as the pain of waiting for him knowing that it is pointless."

Grimacing, he contemplated on this for a moment. Whether he would want her to feel tortured for a very long time or not, she didn't know. She didn't bother to dwell on it. When he pulled back, she smelled something burnt and realized that a few strands were singed.

"Go away." Hao told her, louder and less tolerating this time, and so she did. Animal instincts screwed emotional feelings over this time. She didn't look back for fear that he would actually _do_ something rather than say anything, which, of course, was damn likely. There was also the concern that she might end up saying more incredibly idiotic things to him, which might intensify his annoyance.

He didn't watch her retreat; he never liked the idea of prey running away so easily. But before she was out of hearing distance, he called to her, "Tamao." She stopped in her tracks and looked back, confused and a bit perplexed. "Don't tell." She still looked befuddled, but nodded anyway. He noted absent-mindedly that on her way out, she walked with less effort and trepidation.

Stretching his arms above his head, Hao yawned and let his body collapse on the wooden floor. He had to admit, he was greatly at ease now.

---

Come on, people. Think about it. This is _Hao_ we're talking about, not some bad boy turned good because of Yoh. I doubt any real fluff could happen in a Hao/Tamao, unless you tweak his personality a bit and make him less… sadistic. Like in 'Stutter'. :)Sorry if this is not what all of you expect.

And on the Tamao OOC-ness, I rather think that anyone remarking something about her infatuation with Yoh in a very severe manner would earn for himself a biting remark. Sometimes, the quiet ones are the people you should look out for.

Heehee. Multiple personalities and character OOC-ness amuse me. And I used 'go away' at least four times. o.O Review:3


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